Packing for valves.



. m w a w m 5 8 g g 00 7/ 6 \V/[Z/ w m r m. 1 v M. m I 9 M/ G. W.MILLER. PACKING FOR VALVES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, 1910.

W///// &

V. 2 WD w a Hm V x k. g

O. W. MILLER.

PACKING FOB, VALVES.

APPLICATION FILED, JUNE 25, 1910.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FgZZ,

invrrn ran Eric.)

PACKING FOR VALVES.

eeaeisf To'all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, CASPAR W; MILLER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Wallingford,Delaware county, Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain Improvements in Packing for Valves, of which thefollowing is a specification.

One object of my invention is .toprovid a valve particularly designedfor use in internal combustion engines, which shall be of suchconstruction and soarrapgedrelatively to the parts with which it co-actsthat it shall properly operate with a'minimum of lubrication andlikewise with a minimum of cutting or wear between itself and saidparts. s t

I further desire to provide a valve for use in internal combustionengines with an automatically operative packing of such a nature thatduring the greater part of the operation of theengine itv shall engagesaid valve with but relatively light contact, but which, when anexplosion occurs andas long as there is gas under pressure in thecylinder, shall form a tight joint with the valve so as to preventleakage of the gases around the same.

Another object of the invention to provide an engine with a valve of thecharacter above noted having automatically adjust-- able packinginterposed between itself and the engine cylinder, whereby the valve ispacked only at the time when slich packing is necessary to preventleakage of gases.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter setforth, reference "being had to the accompanying drawings,

in which r Flgure 1, 1s a vertical section of a ortion of an internalcombustion engine s owing my invention as applied thereto; Fig. 2, is

a slightly modified form of the invention; Figs. 3 and 4 arerespectively a side elevation and a plan ofone ofLthe elements of thepacking used; Figs. 5, and 6 are respectively a slde elevation and planof the other ele-' ment of the-paekingnemployed;Figs. 7 and Sarevertical sections illustrating the application of my invention tovarious forms of valves; Fig. 9 is a horizontal section of an engine'cylinder' showing the invention as applied for use in annular rotaryvalves:

Figs. 10, 11, and 12 are vertical sections ofportions of enginecylinders illustrating through the open head of the valve.

Specification of Letters-Patent. Patented Feb, 1911. Application filedJune 25, 1910. Serial No. 568,849. r K

respectively the application of my invention thereto when rotary,reciprocating and oscillatory valves areemployed,and Figs. 13, 14 and 15are fragmentary vertical sections illustrating special forms of thepacking employed as part of my invention.

In Fig. 1 of the above drawings, 1 represents a portion of the cylindercasing of an internal combustion engine the combustion .space of whichis indicated at 2. This casting is provided with an exhaust outlet 3'and 6 has revolubly mounted within its top portion a rotary valve 4 forcontrolling the passage of fuel to and-. the flow of products ofcombustion from said cylinder. The upper end of the combustion space hasa circular opening so placed as to be capable of communicating with oneend of the passage 5 of the valve structure 4 as well as with an opening6 formed in the cylindrical surface ofsaid valve 4. This latter ispermanently connected with the exhaust Opening'FhS e passage 5 of thevalve is likewise in communication with a carbureter or other source offuel or fluid under pressure, as the case may be, and there is fixed tothe outside surface of said valve two ballv races 7 and 8 and a beveledgear 9; the latter meshing with a second gear 10 fixed to a shaft 11driven preferably from. the engine shaft. sec-. 0nd pair of ballraces 12and 13 issuitably mounted on the cylinder casing and two. sets of balls14 and 15 are interposed between the races 7 and 12 and 8' and 13respectively, so that the valve 4 is free to rotate without frictionalengagement with any part of the cylinder casing. v

The opening from the interior of the cylinder has a packing designedunder certain conditions to cooperate with the'valve 4 and whichconsists of two rings preferably constructed as shown in Figs. 3 to 6lncluslve. The first of these rings, as indicated at 16, has one face sodesigned as to be capable of fitting against the cylindrical out-sidesurface of the valve 4, while its 'opposlte face is interiorly beveledso as to be conical in form and cooperates with the second ring 117.While the ring 16 is'endless and unexpansible, the ring 17 is split asindicated at\' 18, and has one convex conical face 19 capable of fittinginto the concave portion ofthe ring 16 while its other face is likewisecon vex and is preferably formed as part of a spherical surface asindicated at 20; the cylindercasi-ng being recessed for the reception ofthe two rings and having the bottom of said recess curved to'conformwith the.

spherical surface of the ring 17 so as to permit of a slight universalmovement of the packing. This provision is made in case the valve 4under operating conditions should be so loose,as to have a slight wabbledur-.

ing its revolution.

It is to be noted that the enlarged head 4 of the valve 4, in which areformed the openings G and 5, does not, under operating conditions,engage the interior cylindrical surface of the cavity in which it turns,although it is lightly engaged by the packing ring 16. Whenever there isgas under pressure within the cylinder, however, said gas acts on theinterior surface of the expansible ring 17 forcing this outward at rightangles" to the long axis of the cylinder and causing it to slide uponthe inclined face of the cavity in the cylinder casing in which it ismounted, and also upon the beveled surface of the ring 16. This latteris thus practically instantaneously caused to move to- I ward the valve4 and into closeengagement with the cylindrical surface thereof; itspressure upon said surface being proportional to the pressure of thegases acting on the ring 17. The escape of the gas from the preferablymade of some resilient material capable of performing this function,whereupon the ring 16 falls away from close engagementwith' the valve 4,which is again left free to revolve with but the slight frictionalengagement of said ring together with that of its supporting ballbearings and whatever form of coupling may be 'employed to join it tothe fuel supply system. The ring 16 may be made out of any materialcapable of resisting the high temperature to which it is exposed andotherwise suitable for-fulfilling the functions of a packing.

In some cases, as shown in Fig. 15, the interior packing ring may bemade in two separate parts 17 and 17 b concentric with each otherandspaeed apart; both ofthese rings be ng split and designed-to actunder operatmg conditlons in conjunction with the space between them asa double packing to still further assist in preventing leakage. As isobvious, the ring 17 when expanded does not exactly fit the sphericalsurface of the recess in which it is mounted and is therefore in somecases open to objection on account of'the possibility of leakage underthese conditions; In order to prevent this I may provide a main ring 17split like the ring 17, as shown in Fig. 14, and mount between one edgeof this and the cavity in which it is placed, an unsplit ring 17 ofsuitable material having its bottom surface spherical 's'oas to'properlyfit the adjacent surface of the cylinder casting, and its upper surfaceconical, in order that it shall likewise fit the under surface of thering 17 regardless of whether-this is in its normal or in its expandedposition. As the equivalent of the two packing rings shown in thefigures above referred to, I may mount between the valve 4 andthe'eylinder, a sleeve 20 of generally cylindrical form and constructedat one end to fit the cylindrical sur faceof the portion 4' ofthe valve4. This sleeve loosely fits the passage leading from the cylinder and isprovided with a number \of piston rings 20* designed to prevent leakagearound it in the well known manner. Its lower end, however. is normallyspaced away from the bottom of the cavity in which it is mounted bymeans of a light spring 20, so that under operating conditions when anexplosion occurs in the cylinder, the pressure of the gases on the loweredge of the sleeve forces it into close engagement with the cylindricalsurface of the valve 4, thereby forming a tight oint at the 1 time whensuch a tight joint is needed; its

pressure against the valve being proportional, as the case of thepacking rings 16 and 17 to the pressure of the gases.

While in Fig, 1, have shown my lnvention as applied to one form ofrotary valve, mounted at the top of an engine cylinder, it may, ifdesired, be mounted at the side thereof as shown in Fig. 10; therelative arrangement of the parts being the same as explained inconnection with Fig. 1. Instead of having a rotary cylindrical valve, Imay provide a disk 4 mounted on a suitable driving shaft 11 and havingthrough it a hole 5 capable of registering with the opening through thepacking rings 16 and 1.7. As in the case of the cylindrical valve 4, thedisk 4 normally has'but light contact with the packing ring 16 whoseface adjacent to it is in this case plane. When, however, an explosionoccurs in the engine cylinder, the action of the packing rings, aspreviously explained, is such as to make a tight joint between thecylinder and the valve which at other times is free from frictionalengagement with the cylinder structure.

In Fig. 8, I have shown my invention designed to provide a partiallybalanced valve, for in this case the engine cylinder is provided with a'revolving double valve 21 Whose general form is that of a cylinderhaving flaring, conical ends or heads, This structure is supported inany suitable bearing and its two heads have two openings 23 respectivelydesigned for the inlet of fuel and the outlet of products of combustion.

The cylinder hastwo openings 22 and 23* force acting on the other head,so that to some extent this form of the valve is balanced. As shown inFig. 9, 1 may con struct the cylinder with one or more of its openingsat the side, as indicated at 24, and. surround that portion .of saidcylinder having said opening with a valve ring 25 provided with anopening 25" capable of registering with the opening 24, in which casethe packing rings 16 and 17 operate as be fore described. If desired,the valve controlling the inlet or outlet of gases from the enginecylinder may be reciprocatory as shown at 26 in Fig. 11 or may beoscillatory as shown at 27 in Fig. 12. In any case,

however, one or morejpacking rings are employed, mounted to normallyengage it with but a relatively light pressure, but which when theexplosion occurs, are substantially instantaneously forced intoengagement 1 with the valve so asto make a tight joint therewith.

As a result of the above noted construction, practically all cutting ofthe valve is avoided and there is but little requirement for thelubrication which would otherwise be required if the valve surfacewasiin heavy rubbing contact with any other structure. Moreover, thepower required for the operation of the valve is materially diminished;-

especially since it is possible to mount it in anti-friction bearingswhich, constitute its sole means of support. Further, the pack:

mg rings may be easily removed and re placed whenever desired and are soarranged that their pressure upon the valve is practically dependentupon and proportional to' the pressure of the gases which they arerequired to confine. Moreover the packing is of such a nature astoautomatically take up what little wear may occur and to properlyperform its functions even if the valve should become warped or slightlyout of I an opening; a valve also having an opening true. It is to benoted that while I have shown my device as employed in connection withan internal combustion engine, it may be usedwith equal advantage andwithout departing from my invention in other types .-of engines as wellas'in other machines requiring packing.

While for practical reasons the packing, when there is no pressure inthe cylinder, bears lightly upon the valve with apressure insufficientto pack it, it is conceivable that it may, under certain conditions bewholly free from the-valve and engage it as above described whenpressure exists in said cylinder- It is therefore to be understood thatsuch an'arrangement may be employed without departing from my inventionand as the equivalent thereof.

By the term light as employed to des- I ignate the nature of theengagement between the packing and the valve 1 mean such a contactaswould of itself be insufficient to prevent leakage of fluid underpres- .sure between said members, while by close or intimate Imean suchan engagement as causes the packing to properly fulfil its function andprevent escape of fluid.

I claim 1. The combination of a container; a relatively movable valvetherefor; with packing between the valve and the container forpreventing leakage of fluid under pressure; said packing normallybearing on the valve with a-pressure insufficient to pack it, but beingfree to move under the action of'fluid'unde'r pressure within thecontainer to prevent leakage.

2. The combination of a container having an opening; a valve mounted tocontrol the flow of fluid through said opening; with an automaticallyacting packing mounted a'djacent to the container openlng for preventingthe escape of fluid under pressurearound the valve and normally in lightengagement with said valve.

3. T he combination of a container having an .opening; arelativelymovable "alve for controlling the flow of fluid through saidopening; and packing placed to prevent escape of fluid 11nder -pressurearound the valve; said packinghaving a portionex-v posed to the actionof the fluid and being free to automatically move to form a tight jointbetween the valve and the container.

4. The combination with a container having an opening; of a relativelymovable valve also having an opening placed to periodically cooperatewith theopening of the container; with packing mounted'in'the containerstructure and free to move into close engagement with the valve underthe action of fluid under pressure; said packing being normally inrelatively light engagement with the valve.

5.- The combination of a container. having and mounted to cooperate withthe opening of the container; and packing for preventlng escape of fluidaround the valve; said packing consisting of a plurality of elements ofwhich one is normally in but relatively light engagement with the valvebut is free to move into'close engagement therewith under the action ofgases-under pressure to prevent leakage.

6. The combination of a container having an opening; a relativelymovable valve placed to cooperate with said vopening; and

two packing rings for the opening; one of said rings being free toengage-the valve but normally-in but relatively light contact with thesame; and the other ring being expansii ble under the action of fluidunder pressure and in position to act on the first ring to move thesame.

I 7. The combination of a container having an opening; a relativelymovable valve mounted adjacent thereto and having an opening placed tocooperate with the opening of the said container; a packing ringsubstantially concentric with the container openlng and free to moveinto close engagement with the valve; and a second packing tiallyconcentric therewith;

. packing rings in said recess of whlch' one is inexpansible and theother 1s split so -astoto permit of a limited universal movement;

with a relatively movable valve for controlthrough the opening beexpansible; said. rings'havlng to-acting portions inclined to theline ofthe opening; one of the rings having a spherical surfaceling the flow offluid placed. to be closely engaged by the packing a plurality of mallyin but light engagement with the same.

10. The having an opening; of a relatively movable valve therefor; andpacking between the container and the valve; said packing in- "underpredetermined conditions though norcombination with a container eludinga relatively inex'pansible ring free surface; with asecond ring free toexpand under internal pressure and of a substantially wedge shapedsection. v

11. The combination of a container having an opening and provided with apacking recess substantially concentric with said opening having-aspherically curved bottom portion; packing rings mounted in'said recessof which one is provided with a surface i the inclined to the line of,the opening, and other has a similarly inclined surface coacting withthe inclined portion of the first ring; said second ring being made intwo expansible'sections' ofwhi'ch one is engage with the sphericalportion of the recess; and a relatively movable valve having an openingplaced to cooperate with the cylinder opening andnormally in butrelatively light engagement with the packing.

12. The combination of a container hav ing an opening; a relativelymovable valve for controlling the flow of fluidthroughsaid i opening;with a longitudinally movable to engage the valve and having a conicalde'o curved to sleeve co-axial with the opening, having one end inrelatively light engagement with the valve and having its opposite endexposed to the action of fluid under pressure from said container.

' In testimony w hereof I have signed my nameto this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing WllJIlGSSQS.

OAS-PAR W..MILLER. Witnesses; p

WILLIAM E. BRADL Y,

I WM. A.'BARR.

